Polypropylene chemical structure

PTT is made by the melt polycondensation of PDO with either terephthalic acid or dimethyl terephthalate. The chemical structure is shown in Figure 11.1. It is also called 3GT in the polyester industry, with G and T standing for glycol and terephthalate, respectively. The number preceding G stands for the number of methylene units in the glycol moiety. In the literature, polypropylene terephthalate) (PPT) is also frequently encountered however, this nomenclature does not distinguish whether the glycol moiety is made from a branched 1,2-propanediol or a linear 1,3-propanediol. Another abbreviation sometimes used in the literature is PTMT, which could be confused with poly(tetramethylene terephthalate),... 

Despite the apparent similarity in the chemical structure, please note that the tertiary carbons attached to the polypropylene backbone induce a slightly different behaviour from that of polyethylene. 

The preceding structural characteristics dictate the state of polymer (rubbery vs. glassy vs. semicrystalline) which will strongly affect mechanical strength, thermal stability, chemical resistance and transport properties [6]. In most polymeric membranes, the polymer is in an amorphous state. However, some polymers, especially those with flexible chains of regular chemical structure (e.g., polyethylene/PE/, polypropylene/PP/or poly(vinylidene fluoride)/PVDF/), tend to form crystalline... 

Tg for a linear, high-molecular-mass PPO, which was prepared from a polypropylene glycol precursor (with a molecular mass of 4000 g/mol) using a chain extender with a chemical structure similar to that of the crosslinker, is -62.5 °C. The Tg was determined from DMA measurements performed at 0.215 Hz [43]. 

The chemical structures of important amines for curing epoxy resins in adhesive systems are identified in Fig. 5.1. Diethylenetriamine (DETA), triethylenetetramine (TETA), ra-aminoethylpiperazine (AEP), diethylaminopropylamine (DEAPA), ra-phenylenediamine (MPDA), and diaminodiphenyl sulfone (DDS) are the most commonly used members of this class. They are all primary amines. They give room or elevated temperature cure at near stoichiometric ratios. Ethylenediamine is too reactive to be used in most practical adhesive formulations. Polyoxypropyleneamines (amine-terminated polypropylene glycols) impart superior flexibility and adhesion. 

Biodegradable polymers are similar in terms of their chemical structure to conventional thermoplastics such as polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene. They can be processed using standard polymer processing methods such as film extrusion, injection moulding and blow moulding. 

As already mentioned, on the polymerization of propylene at higher monomer concentrations using zirconium-containing octahedral complexes with a C2 symmetry, an elastomeric polypropylene was formed. It was essential to compare the chemical structure of the obtained elastomers with the structure of the elastomeric polypropylenes described in the literature. 

Plastics. Plastics are the polymeric materials with properties intermediate between elastomers and fibers. In spite of the possible differences in chemical structure, the demarcation between fibers and plastics may sometimes be blurred. Polymers such as polypropylene and polyamides can be used as fibers and plastics by a proper choice of processing conditions. Plastics can be extruded as sheets or pipes, painted on surfaces, or molded to form countless objects. A typical commercial plastic resin may contain two or more polymers in addition to various additives and fillers. Additives and fillers are used to improve some property such as the processability, thermal or environmental stability, and mechanical properties of the final product. 

The chemical structure of a polymer determines whether it will be crystalline or amorphous in the solid state. Both tacticity (i.e., syndio-tactic or isotactic) and geometric isomerism (i.e., trans configuration) favor crystallinity. In general, tactic polymers with their more stereoregular chain structure are more likely to be crystalline than their atactic counterparts. For example, isotactic polypropylene is crystalline, whereas commercial-grade atactic polypropylene is amorphous. Also, cis-pol3nsoprene is amorphous, whereas the more easily packed rans-poly-isoprene is crystalline. In addition to symmetrical chain structures that allow close packing of polymer molecules into crystalline lamellae, specific interactions between chains that favor molecular orientation, favor crystallinity. For example, crystallinity in nylon is enhanced because of... 

Iring, M. Tudos, F. Thermal oxidation of poly-ethylenes and polypropylene effects of chemical structure and reaction conditions on the oxidation process. Prog. Polym. Sci. 1990, 15 (2), 217-262. 

Two common liquid membrane support materials, polytetrafluoroethylene and polypropylene, have critical surface tensions of 18 mN/m and 35 mN/m, respectively. Manufacturers often supply critical surface tensions for their porous films. Liquids with a surface tension, y, less than the critical surface tension will probably wet the surface. Therefore, hydrocarbons will wet polypropylene, but water (y = 72 mN/m) will not. Shafrin and Zisman (30) have summarized critical surface tension data for many materials and correlated the data such that critical surface tensions may be estimated from knowledge of the functional groups in the chemical structure of the surface. 

At the present time, a discussion of the results of our model investigations in terms of possible consequences for polypropylene must be completely speculative. Apart from the differences expected between liquid phase and solid polymer photooxidation kinetics, differences in the chemical structure between our model substance, isooctane, and the structural unit of polypropylene have to be also considered. With respect to the number of CH,-groups per structural unit, isooctane and polypropylene differ by a ratio of 5 1. 

Unlike polyethylene, which exists—in an ideal case—in a form of a monotonous (— CH2 — CH2 — CH2 —) chain, polypropylene has a microbranched chemical structure... 

As it was mentioned above, polypropylenes are more prone to oxidation, hence, requiring significantly higher amounts of antioxidants and UV stabilizers compared to PE. It was shown that oxygen intake is much faster in polypropylene compared to that in PE [10], The primary reason is in the microbranched chemical structure of PP (see above), containing tertiary hydrogens that makes formation of hydroperoxides in PP much easier compared to that in polyethylenes. Overall, the mechanisms of oxidation (both photo- and thermooxidation) in PP and PE are quite different. For example, the termination reaction rates for oxidation in PE are 100-1000 times faster compared to PP [11]. 

Amorphous and semi-crystalline polypropylene samples were pyrolyzed in He from 388°-438°C and in air from 240°-289°C. A novel interfaced pyrolysis gas chromatographic peak identification system was used to analyze the products on-the-fly the chemical structures of the products were determined also by mass spectrometry. Pyrolysis of polypropylene in He has activation energies of 5-1-56 kcal mol 1 and a first-order rate constant of JO 3 sec 1 at 414°C. The olefinic products observed can be rationalized by a mechanism involving intramolecular chain transfer processes of primary and secondary alkyl radicals, the latter being of greater importance. Oxidative pyrolysis of polypropylene has an activation energy of about 16 kcal mol 1 the first-order rate constant is about 5 X JO 3 sec 1 at 264°C. The main products aside from C02, H20, acetaldehyde, and hydrocarbons are ketones. A simple mechanistic scheme has been proposed involving C-C scissions of tertiary alkoxy radical accompanied by H transfer, which can account for most of the observed products. Similar processes for secondary alkoxy radicals seem to lead mainly to formaldehyde. Differences in pyrolysis product distributions reported here and by other workers may be attributed to the rapid removal of the products by the carrier gas in our experiments. 

The presence of mineral reinforcements such as talc or mica, as foreign solid particles embedded into a polypropylene matrix, usually induces a nucleation effect. A signihcant increase in the crystalline content of the polymer is evidenced if compared with the neat polymer when processed at the same setup conditions that are necessary to ensure a good accommodation of the solid particles into the amorphous phase of the polymer in order to obtain a material with a good mechanical performance (27). The comparison between PP/mica and PP/talc composites in terms of their mechanical behavior under dynamic conditions in the solid state agrees with the morphological features derived from their chemical structures of both minerals (28). 

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